The present invention relates to a device and a method for facilitating subcutaneous introduction of a plastic catheter into the peripheral artery in a variety of clinical circumstances.
There is often a need to quickly catheterize a peripheral artery. This task is complicated by the fact that such arteries have small diameters and lie deep in the soft tissue. Even small errors in selection of a skin puncture point and in adjustment of an insertion angle can lead to uncertainties of the needle tip position at the artery's step greater than the artery's diameter, as shown in FIG. 1. The tip of the needle can miss the artery as shown in the drawing. This substantially decreases the success rate of catheterization and results in multiple traumatic attempts.